NEWBERRY — Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority, or The COMET, will be holding a meeting on Sept. 25, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Newberry County Library, in regards to a proposed bus route that will service Newberry County.
According to The COMET’s Route 93X — Newberry Express Business Plan, they are proposing to Lexington County, as well as employers and residents in Newberry, Little Mountain, Chapin, Ballentine, Prosperity and Irmo this route. This is an express route operating from Downtown Columbia to Newberry via Little Mountain, Chapin, Ballentine and Irmo.
This proposed route would provide access to many areas in Richland County, including to as far as Northeast Richland County, Eastover, Blythwood and Irmo. The Downtown Transit Center, located at Laurel and Sumpter Streets, as well as the Assembly Street Bus Shelter are transit facilities in Downtown Columbia that have waiting areas, restrooms, customer service window, security and janitorial services.
The plan further states that the route would operate five days a week and be geared toward shift times of the above mentioned employers. One bus would operate in the a.m. and the p.m. There would be no service on weekends, New Year’s Day, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas Day. A total of 251 days of service would operate.
Initially, Route 93X will operate to transport residents from Newberry, Little Mountain, Chapin, Ballentine and Irmo to Downtown Columbia, serving major employers such as Palmetto Health, state offices and the University of South Carolina. In the future, the route can take residents from Columbia to employers in Newberry County, such as Samsung, Georgia Pacific, Kraft Foods and International Paper.
The proposed route would include stops in Newberry, Little Mountain and Prosperity. The pilot period, according to the business plan, will be May 2019 to June 2020. The COMET will deem this route a one year pilot with six month review and recommendation for continuance at the end of the pilot.
The proposed fare would be four dollars for a one way ticket, all access day pass at six dollars, seven all access day pass at $28 and 31 day all access day pass at $80. The COMET would like employers and communities to be able to sell seven day and 31 day passes and distribute schedules through the employers human resources office or community’s finance department.
The proposal states there would be no discounted fares for seniors, persons with disabilities or youth on this route. Employers will also be able to take advantage of bulk ticket pricing by paying 50 percent off regular fare pricing for each of the ticket categories.
Should the route not meet the above performance measures within one year, the route would be subject to discontinuance. As part of the valuation of performance, a survey would be conducted in the third and ninth month to assess satisfaction, where customers are coming from and what employers they are going to.
A monthly report will be provided to the funding participants showing the cost, ridership, fares collected, net deficit.